Categories C & D to be replaced by S & N

Did you know that The Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage is changing from 1st October 2017?

The code sets best practice for the disposal of motor vehicle salvage, ensuring that damaged vehicles are correctly categorised.

What's changing?

The categories are changing from the old A, B, C & D. They will be replaced by:

A: Scrap

B: Break

S: Structural

N: Non-Structural

Categories A (Scrap) and B (Break) will remain the same, while S (Structural) and N (Non-Structural) will replace categories C and D.

The new categories will make buying salvage vehicles more transparent, as prospective purchasers will be aware of whether the vehicle has structural damage or not.

Do you know what is classified as "Structural"? For instance, if the damage is confined to bolt on parts such as front wings and bumpers, how would that be classified?

Would rear quarter panel be structural even though its panel? Sill or A pillar I would say is structural.

You can read my take on the change here.

The summary of my post:

The new rules will help to identify those written off where the structure has been damaged, but IMO they do not go far enough. Cars not written off will still not be recorded in any way, so subsequent buyers have no easy way of finding out if their prospective purchase has repaired structural damage. Buyers of prereg cars also need to be on their guard as cars damaged in transit have been known to be registered, repaired and sold on that way.

I would like to see the law changed so that any car that has ever been structurally damaged has that fact permanently recorded on the registration document. That way, subsequent buyers can make an informed choice.

I'm not sure how it's going to work. I would say a post would be structural or a chassis rail tip bent probably too. I hope not a chassis rail as a current cat d with a bent chassis rail tip would still be a D with no other structural damage. Time will tell. Sold my two Cat Cs now so I better hurry up and get another.

its all ******** anyway as assessors can slap any CAT they like on a car and most people just accept it.